THIS IS AMERICA - Next Face of Supreme Court? Americans Wait

THIS IS AMERICA - Next Face of Supreme¹ Court? Americans Wait to See
By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Monday, July 18, 2005

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. This week, our subject is the Supreme Court.

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VOICE ONE:

Americans are waiting to see who will be the newest member, or members, of the Supreme Court.

President Bush already has one opening to fill on the nine-member court. And there has been much talk about possible other retirements³, such as Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who has cancer.

 
Sandra Day O'Connor
The opening was created July first by the announced retirement² of Sandra Day . She is seventy-five years old. Justice O'Connor was the first woman ever named to the Supreme Court. She has served twenty-four terms. She says she will stay until the Senate confirms her replacement⁴.

President Bush says he hopes that will happen in time for the new Supreme Court term. By tradition, the court meets on the first Monday in October.

Republicans and opposition⁵ Democrats⁶ have prepared for a major confirmation⁷ battle. Activist⁸ groups have been campaigning in the media and by mail for and against different possible nominees⁹.

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VOICE TWO:

 
 
Currently the newest member of the court is Stephen Breyer. Justice Breyer is sixty-six years old. President Bill Clinton nominated him eleven years ago.

A year before that, in nineteen ninety-three, President Clinton chose Ruth Bader Ginsburg for the court. Justice Ginsburg is seventy-two years old.

Two other justices, Clarence Thomas and David Souter, were nominated by President Bush's father when he was president. Justice Thomas is the youngest of the nine members. He is fifty-seven.

VOICE ONE:

The oldest is John Paul Stevens. He is eighty-five. He was nominated by President Gerald Ford¹⁰ and joined the court in nineteen seventy-five.

Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Sandra Day O'Connor were all nominated by Ronald Reagan. President Reagan also nominated William Rehnquist as chief justice.

 
William Rehnquist
Mister Rehnquist had joined the court in nineteen seventy-two as an associate justice named by President Richard Nixon. Mister Rehnquist became chief justice in nineteen eighty-six. Now, he is eighty years old, and weakened by thyroid cancer.

Mister Rehnquist is among the more conservative members of the court. The most conservative are Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

The more liberal justices are John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.

Sandra Day O'Connor and Anthony Kennedy have been more conservative in some of their votes and more liberal in others.

VOICE TWO:

President Reagan chose Sandra Day O'Connor for the Supreme Court in nineteen eighty-one. At the time she was a judge on the Arizona Court of Appeals. Many legal observers expected her to side with the conservatives on the high court. But she often surprised people. On social issues, legal experts consider her a moderate.

Justice O'Connor has been a swing vote on the court. Her vote made the difference in a number of important cases decided¹¹ by votes of five-to-four.

Her vote, for example, helped give the presidency¹² to George Bush after the disputed election of two thousand. The court ruled that Florida could stop a recount of votes in that state.

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VOICE ONE:

The Supreme Court was organized in seventeen ninety. It is the highest court in the land. Among its duties, the court decides if laws made by Congress and the states are constitutional.

President Bush says he wants judges who will stay true to the Constitution and not try to make their own laws.

Presidents usually try to name justices who share their political beliefs. Some presidents regret their choices. A famous example involves the chief justice from nineteen fifty-three to nineteen sixty-nine, Earl Warren. Republican President Dwight Eisenhower appointed him. The Warren court took many liberal positions. Eisenhower is said to have called the appointment "the biggest damfool mistake I ever made."

VOICE TWO:

In nineteen seventy, another Republican president, Richard Nixon, appointed Harry¹³ Blackmun as a justice. For three years, Blackmun allied¹⁴ himself with other conservative members appointed by Nixon.

But in nineteen seventy-three, Harry Blackmun wrote the majority opinion in the case known as Roe¹⁵ versus¹⁶ Wade¹⁷. That ruling said women have a right to end unwanted pregnancies¹⁸.

The decision to make abortion¹⁹ on demand legal shook American society. Today abortion remains²⁰ one of the most divisive social issues in the country.

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VOICE ONE:

Now, we look at some of the cases that the Supreme Court decided in its term that ended in June.

Two decisions pleased opponents of death sentences. In one, the court ruled against executing people whose crimes took place before they were eighteen years old. The justices ruled that doing so is cruel and unusual punishment. The Constitution bars such punishments.

Another ruling rejected a death sentence in the state of Pennsylvania. The majority ruled that the lawyer for the accused had failed to provide a satisfactory defense²¹. The court said the lawyer did not present evidence that might have saved the man from being condemned²² to die.

VOICE TWO:

In two other cases, the court ruled on religious displays in public places. These cases involved displays of the Ten Commandments in Texas and Kentucky. Each case ended in a five-to-four vote. But it was a mixed judgment²³.

The court ruled that a monument outdoors on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol was constitutional. However, a display on walls inside two Kentucky courthouses was ruled unconstitutional.

The court seemed to say that the Ten Commandments may appear on public property, but not if the goal is to gain support for religion.

VOICE ONE:

Another case involved the medical use of marijuana as permitted by some states. The court decided that the government can arrest patients who use the illegal drug to ease pain. The ruling was in a California case. The ruling was seen as a declaration of federal power over the powers of the states.

In another case, however, the justices rejected federal sentencing guidelines passed by Congress in nineteen eighty-four. Those guidelines limited the ability of federal judges to decide the sentence that a criminal should receive. The Supreme Court found the system of required sentences unconstitutional.

VOICE TWO:

In its term just ended, the Supreme Court also dealt with technology issues. The court decided a case involving peer-to-peer networks on the Internet. These services let people share electronic files.

The court ruled that peer-to-peer networks can face legal action if they create a climate for the illegal copying of music or movies. A lower court had decided differently.

VOICE ONE:

Another big case involved eminent²⁴ domain²⁵. This is the right of governments to take private property for public use. The Fifth Amendment²⁶ to the Constitution permits governments to take private property for "public use," if there is fair payment.

But the question in this case was whether eminent domain was constitutional if used for private economic development.

The court considered a plan to redevelop a waterfront area in New London, Connecticut. Opponents said it was unfair to force people to sell their homes against their will. But the court ruled that eminent domain can be used for private economic development if the goal is to improve a community. This case divided the court five-to-four.

VOICE TWO:

The Supreme Court represents one of the three branches of the federal government. Conservatives presently control the other two: the presidency and Congress.

Now, Americans are waiting to see what direction the Supreme Court will take. Justices serve as long as they wish. This means that the presidents who appoint them may leave a long-lasting influence on the court, and on American life.

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VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver²⁷. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember.  Please join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

3 retirements   

退休( retirement的名词复数 )； 退职； 退役； 退休的实例

参考例句：

• We've had two retirements in our office this year. 今年我们办公室已有二人退休。
• Those may take the form of sackings redundancies, temporary layoffs or retirements. 这些形式有开除，作为编余人员，暂时解雇或退休。

4 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

8 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

9 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

10 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

13 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

14 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

15 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

16 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

17 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

18 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

19 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

20 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

21 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

22 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

23 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

24 eminent   

adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的

参考例句：

• We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
• He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。

25 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

26 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

27 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。